A Shift in the Wind
by Barricade.Boys
Summary: Marius notices a bit of a change in Eponine.


"Bonjour, Monsieur Marius!"  
Marius stopped dead in his tracks, one foot still in the air. _He knew that voice._ Cursing to himself, he flashed through hundreds of possible ways to escape. Ignoring the wheedling voice of Bahorel telling him to grab the nearest pointy object, Marius slowly turned around and faced the thing that had called to him just moments before.  
"Eponine…" Marius put on a falsely cheesy smile that looked more like a grimace. She smiled back at him, and Marius felt himself gag as he stared at the row of rotting teeth in her mouth. Taking a hesitant step backwards, Marius stumbled into a damaged part of the pavement. He waved his arms, trying to catch his balance, but to no avail. His feet flew out from under him and he fell on his backside in a very ungraceful fashion.  
"Oh, Monsieur, let me help you!" The gamine jumped forward to assist Marius, but the young man scurried backwards across the street. He knew from previous encounters to stay at least ten feet away from Eponine if you valued your sense of smell. She, however, did not seem to acknowledge this fact and hurried towards him even faster. As she crossed the ten-feet barrier, a potent stench rose up in Marius' nose, and he fumbled with his shirt collar, trying to pull it over his face as his eyes watered. Through the blur he saw a filthy face lean in and smile, again showing the horror that was her dental hygiene.  
She offered him a hand and, too confused from the smell to refuse, Marius took it. He shuddered as he felt the fleas jump from their previous host and onto his arm, crawling over his skin in delight. He could almost hear them shouting for joy at the prospect of leaving the filthy girl. He gagged again, now thankful that he had been in too much of a hurry to eat anything that morning.  
Marius tried desperately to think of something to do, somewhere that he had to go, just to get away from Eponine. Though he pitied the girl, he didn't think that he would be able to withstand one more moment in her presence. Shirt collar still over his face, he mumbled weakly, "Thank you, Mademoiselle… but… I have to go… see Cosette." Yeah. That sounded good.  
A stern look crossed Eponine's face. "Oh?"  
"Yes… you see, I told her that I would… take her out to lunch today?"  
Eponine's face hardened even more. "Did you even read the book, Marius? I know everything that goes on here, and I am positive that Cosette's father would never allow her to go to lunch with you."  
Damn. She was good.  
Before he could reply, a far-off bell tolled twelve o'clock. Just as the final chime rang across the city, something happened. If he had been asked, Marius would not have been able to put his finger on exactly what it was, but he knew that something drastic had just occurred. He may have blamed a shift in the wind or the perfume store across the street for masking the smell of the hideous gamine. He could have questioned his sanity as he suddenly wondered why he had ever even come up with the thought of taking Cosette out for lunch. And poor Marius could have consulted Feuilly about his need for glasses right then and there, as he could no longer see the dirt and grime that covered Eponine. On all accounts, the dear student would have been wrong. You see, it was not anything Marius could have ever thought up that had caused this sudden change- all blame lay on an event that would take place several hundreds of years in the future, but one that would change the story of Marius, Eponine, Enjolras, and all the others forever- the birth of the fangirl.  
Now quite embarrassed to find himself on the ground, Marius quickly pulled himself up and dropped the girl's hand, blushing furiously. He had never seen such a beautiful young woman in his life, and now he stood in front of her with a rumpled shirt and dirt all over his pant legs. He looked up at her, face full of shame, but he relaxed as she smiled at him. Her smile was perfect and white, and Marius could not help but smile back. Forgetting Cosette completely, Marius stared at the gorgeous girl in front of him. Though dressed in rags, she was clean and composed, and as she said, "Are you okay, Monsieur?" Marius thought he was in Heaven. Her voice was smooth and melodic, and her breath was sweet. The wind wafted from behind her, and Marius inhaled her scent deeply.  
Marius took Eponine's hand and stared into her eyes. "I am now," he said, and the two of the walked off into the sunset, despite the fact that it was just barely noon.

* * *

Just remember, every time an Eppie Bopper is born, Eponine loses a little bit of her identity.


End file.
